Baby Got Barack

I've avoided major political topics on this blog so far...but I just cannot leave this one be. In July, I was wandering the Fremont Sunday market with friends, and we came upon a stall with promotional Obama clothing. These shirts had cool slogans and an inspirational pic of Obama on them. You could even buy a onesie for your baby!!! That way, your whole family could show their support for Obama!!! (I hope you are catching the sarcasm).

Anyway, in seeing this, I had a case of non-filtration, meaning that I spoke loudly exactly what I was thinking without any forethought. I don't even know what my words were, but it was something like, "That is the weirdest thing I've ever seen. Why would anyone want to wear a tee-shirt like that?!"

All eyes turned to me and I realized -duh- that nearly all of the Fremont Sunday market crowd would love to wear one of these. Now I want to make sure to be clear on my point. I am not a fan of Obama and will not vote for him...but this is not my point. What I am truly concerned about is that people think it's okay -and even 'cool'- to wear clothing with politicians and nifty slogans. I have never been that inspired by any politician.

[Here are some example slogans:
"Obama is my homeboy"
"Baby Got Barack"
"Ohhhh-bama!"
"Barack the vote!"
"Obama Mama" (written on your butt)
"Obama, Fo Sho" (yes, 'fo' real!)]

When did our country begin to idolize our politicans? Politicians -no matter how great any one of them might be- are STILL politicians...we need to question them, doubt their words, and pay close attention to how they are proposing to run our country. We should not be idolizing them, wearing their picture proudly on our tee-shirts. And we certainly should not subject our babies to this idiocy...poor babies!

Are people paying attention to the issues, our current reality, etc.? Or are they paying more attention to -and allowing their vote to be influenced by- the catchy slogans, retro pictures of a hopeful Obama, and advanced marketing & commercialism?!

Check out these websites to better understand my concern:
http://www.superobama.com
http://www.customizedgirl.com/tag/barack-obama?gclid=CJ3CydCbo5UCFQRfagodSTNhkg

City of Rocks, Idaho

It's official...Brandon and I are 'gumbies'. We had a great time at The City, but certainly are not as ambitious and daring as we once were. For those of you who already know this secret, it's a lot more fun to sleep-in, climb a few routes leisurely, eat long lunches, and take afternoon siestas. After years of intense climbing trips, this was a nice, relaxing time, with some awesome, classic climbing.

If you make a trip to The City, remind yourself that these routes are 'old school', with the sandbagged ratings, some freaky runouts, and sketchy walkoffs. We certainly enjoyed ourselves in the 5.7-5.9 range on all the classic routes.

H coming down from Rye Crisp...a cool view

Brandon leading Adolescent Homo Sapiens, 5.7

We only got this one pic on the coolest route we did...Skyline, 5.8

Skyline follows the left skyline of Morning Glory Spire, located in the center of this pic. A very cool line.

Scenic sun-rise

Brandon leading Wheat Thin, 5.7

Wheat Thin is the chalked S-line crack several feet to the right of the tree.
Oh, I HATED this climb, but Brandon loved it...Fred Rasmussen, 5.8

This is me, cursing my way up Fred Rasmussen, named after a pioneer that wrote his name in axle grease on the rock. Man, I hate that Fred!

Brandon leading his way up Rye Crisp, 5.8

...like the crooked helmet!

Brandon heading up Carol's Crack, 5.8...good fun!

Window Arch

Hi!

A beautiful sunset...

Um yeah, a nap between climbs, in the shade of our cave

B hiking up to the base of Intruding Dike, 5.7

Just a cool view...

B checking out Intruding Dike.

P.S. I think you should get credit for the walk-offs at The City...they're a bit freaky!